My Memoirs No.8
Final year in Madinah (1966)
I have not many recollections of my last year in the
university except that I achieved the highest grade (Mumtāz) in the
final exam by which I acquired my certificate in Islamic Sharia. It equates
with a B.A in the British educational system.
There had been neither any award-giving ceremony nor any
graduates gathering. We had to pick up our certificates from the office and say
farewell to the Registrar and slip away quietly.
Would it not be adorable if I gave here some short and
sketchy notes about some of my colleagues who shared with me the room, the
class, the university as a whole?
With some I had good memories of a long-lasting company;
with some others a remembrance of a kind gesture, exchange of some thoughts or
opinions, a sitting of mutual reading and discussion. By remembering them, I
find myself paying off a debt which I owe to them.
When I speak
about them, I have to cover the post-graduate period during which I might have
had contact with some of them as well.
So to make my
task easier, I could briefly say about the phases of life through which I have
passed after leaving Madinah and about which I have to speak in details in a
later part of my memoirs.
From April
1967, I started my career as a teacher and Da’ī in Nairobi, the capital of
Kenya.
In July 1976,
I moved to London where I first established Al-Quran society and later, with
the help and co-operation of some other activists I was able to lay the
foundation of the Islamic Sharia Council (1982), and then Masjid Al-Tawhid
(1984). I was one of the founding members of the international charity Muslim
Aid in 1985.
I had the
honour to be a member of the European Council for Fatwa & Research since
its inception in 1997 and also a member of the Assembly of Muslim Jurists in
America (AMJA) since its appearance in 2003.
I had been
awarded as well, the membership of the World Organisation of the Muslim
Scholars which was established under the auspices’ of Rabita ‘Alam Islami
(Muslim World League) of Makkah.
With this
background in mind, I am going to speak first about those colleagues who, by
the time I write these lines (May 2018) had already passed away. May Allah
Almighty have mercy upon them and declare them among the citizens of the
Paradise. Secondly, as for those who are still alive, I will keep on
remembering them in my writing on the Blog in future. I wish for me and them a
blissful end in line with the saying of Allah:
مِّنَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ۬ صَدَقُواْ مَا
عَـٰهَدُواْ ٱللَّهَ عَلَيۡهِۖ فَمِنۡهُم مَّن قَضَىٰ نَحۡبَهُ ۥ وَمِنۡہُم
مَّن يَنتَظِرُۖ وَمَا بَدَّلُواْ تَبۡدِيلاً۬
“Among the believers are men who have
been true to their covenant with Allah, of them some have fulfilled their
obligations and some of them are still waiting, but they have never changed in
the least.”
[Surah al-Ahzāb 33:23]
Thirdly, I
have to crown this discussion with my thoughts about one of the greatest
scholars of this century, a most influential person not only in Saudi Arabia
but in the entire Muslim world, his eminence Sheikh ‘Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah
bin Baz, May Allah have mercy upon him.
So let me
begin with the first group.
1.
Ibrahim
Khalil
He comes of a very remote northern area in Pakistan, from Skardu,
Gilgit, Baltistan, an area where Sunni
Muslims, mostly Ahl-e-Hadith to which he belonged and Noor Bakshia, a
sect of Ismailia, the followers of Agha Khan live side by side. Difference of
faith and practices may lead them to debate and discuss, and sometimes to
denounce and have enmities. To come out of that far-flung area and travel to
Karachi for the pursuit of knowledge was a great achievement on his part.
As I mentioned earlier we were together for the four years of our stay
in Madinah and were also together in our appointment in Kenya. He remained
associated to Madrasa al-Falah of Mombasa, from the day he joined till the day
he had to leave it. He had been a successful teacher throughout his life and
left behind him his legacy: a great number of students.
Visiting him in 2016, at his place in Mombasa, just one year before his
death, was a great God-given opportunity for me.
The news of his death came to me through his eldest son Anas, who was
with him while he was confined to his bed in Shifa hospital, Islamabad,
Pakistan. The family took his body to Skardu for a burial in his native town.
May Allah shower His mercy upon him!
2.
Abdul
Rahman Nasir
My second colleague in the boarding for the first two years of Jam’ia
life.
He had to join the secondary stage lasting for three years before
entering into the degree college.
With a healthy body and strong physique, he was always interested in
militant ways and military life. He started his career as a translator to help
Pakistan officials on their visits to Saudi Arabia. But his ambitions came true
when he got the translator role with Pak forces headquarters in Islamabad.
He seems to have enjoyed his duties, away from the hectic field of Da’wa
or preaching.
As a regular visitor to Islamabad annually, I have met him twice or
thrice at his residence.
May Allah shower His mercy upon him.
3.
Muhammad
Yusuf Kazim
After graduation, he was appointed as a teacher in Kempala, Uganda. In
the summer of 1976, when I had to leave Nairobi for good, he replaced me at
Mungana Madrasa where I had been a teacher for nine years.
Later he moved to the Islamic University at Islamabad. There I happened
to meet him several times during my visits to Pakistan. He has developed a
great liking for western philosophy and was found to be very appreciative of
philosophical theories.
May Allah shower His mercy upon him.
4.
Abdullah
Kaka Khail
Remembering him means to remember his two colleagues as well; Hasan Jan
and Abdul Razzaq Iskandar. All three belonged to the famous seat of knowledge
in Karachi; known as Jam’ia Binnuari, named after Sheikh Muhammad Yusuf Binnuari.
They come from the northern border area of Pakistan. Pathan by tribe and
Khaiber by province.
They were all well-versed in Hanafi Fiqh and their stay in Madinah gave
them an exposure to Hanbali Fiqh in particular and to all the schools of
thought in general. Our text back in Fiqh, Bidayat-ul-Mujtahid of Ibn Rushd
allowed them an insight in comparative fiqh.
Though they were impressed by the scholastic approach of Sheikh Muhammad
Al-Amin Al-Shanqiti, they seemed to be at odds with Salafi teachers, like
Sheikh Muhammad Nasiruddin Al-Albani and Sheikh Abdul Mohsin Hamd Al-‘Abbad.
Abdullah Kaka Khail turned out to be a popular teacher at the Islamic
University in Islamabad. Now his son Adnan is advancing his legacy in knowledge
and defence of the religious values.
May Allah shower His mercy upon him.
5.
Hasan
Jan
Long after graduation, I met him once in Makkah during a pilgrimage. He
had shown me a treatise of his writing on the Hadith of “Umm Zar,” a famous
Hadith in Bukhari where a very interesting discussion is recorded among eight
women who had been describing their husbands. It is one of those Ahadith which
consists of very difficult Arabic words and idioms.
He became famous by winning a seat in the National Assembly of Pakistan.
The
last news which struck my ears were about his murder on the hands of some
extremists who were not happy on his stance about some political issues in the
northern areas of Pakistan.
May Allah shower His mercy upon him.
6.
Abu
Bakr of Mozambique
See Memoirs No.5 for a detailed discussion about him.
7.
Siraj-ul-Rahman
Nadawi
Not in Madinah but in Africa, a stronger bond of friendship developed
among the two of us, mainly because of the womenfolk in both houses. During my
few visits of Kampala, while I had been stationed in Nairobi, we were hosted by
him. Later during the times of President Edi Amin, he moved to Mombasa, Kenya
where he was able to establish a centre for education and training.
Twenty years after my departure from Nairobi I happened to visit this
centre twice. Once during his lifetime and secondly in 2016 after his death.
With his friendly contacts with some Arab Shuyukh and wealthy tradesmen, he
acquired enough funds to establish this centre.
I remember a friendly gathering of our two families when I took him to
Ngong Hill at the outskirts of Nairobi when I was still there.
A year before he passed away, he came to visit his son in London. I
found him frail and exhausted, due to a heart attack he suffered while he was
in Kenya.
During my last visit to Kenya in 2016, his son-in-law, a medical doctor
by profession, took me to the Islamic college, a part of the main educational
centre and two other schools and a mosque, which he also established at a distance
from Mombasa on the road to Kalifi, a coastal town before approaching Lamu on
the east African coast.
May Allah shower His mercy upon him.
8.
Habibullah
Abdul Qadir Sindhi
I met him in Madinah where he used to assist the pilgrims in their
boarding, lodging and travelling to Makkah especially as a spiritual guide
during their sacred journey.
Long after leaving Madinah, I heard about him as a distinguished Sheikh
with exhaustive writing on the fallacy of Sufism. I happened to visit him once
in his house by the road leading to the airport. Here I got some glimpses of
his books on the subject.
Being older than me, he turned out to be an old Sheikh, with fully Arab
attire which attracted respect and admiration from the people around him.
May Allah shower His mercy upon him.
9.
Abdul
Hamid Rahmani
See Memoirs No.6 where I have spoken about him.
10.
Hafiz
Nisaruddin Ahmad
See my article (obituary) on his death in this blog.
11.
Abdul
Wahhab Khilji
He must be a contemporary to my younger brother, Dr Suhail Hasan who
stayed in Madinah with the family (my parents) after my departure to Nairobi in
1967.
He comes from Malair Kotla, one of the princely states in East Punjab,
which is my birthplace as well.
I used to see him in Madinah, during my annual visits to see my parents
until my father had to leave Madinah in 1980 after retirement.
As a Secretary General of Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith, India, he was
very influential in promoting the Salafi way of Islamic Da’wa in his homeland.
On the other hand, this august post provided him a great opportunity to travel widely especially in the
middle east to represent Jamiat at international forums. During such meetings
and in Makkah, Istanbul and London, I happened to meet him and have exchange of
thoughts with him.
After a long illness, he breathed his last on Friday 27th
Rajab 1439 AH (13.4.2018) in Delhi.
May Allah shower His mercy upon him.
12.
Ihsan
Ilahi Zaheer.
He joined the University one year later than me i.e. in 1963.
He was known to be an active, flamboyant and outspoken young man.
Myself, being away from Pakistan, soon after graduation, in a foreign
land, I lost contact with him after leaving Madinah.
Once, during my annual Hajj activities, in late seventies, when I was
officially used to be invited to participate in the guidance of pilgrims, I
found him occupying a bed in a big room with a few beds, all for the delegates
like us during the Hajj season. He told me that he had been invited that year
to join hands with the working group during the Hajj season. But for him, to
abide by a strenuous working schedule with regularity and punctuality was a
task too far. I do not remember for how many days he made himself available but
whatever amount of time he spent, he was a valuable asset for the whole group
known as ‘’Taw’iya Islamia fi Al-Hajj (Islamic Awareness
during Hajj).”
Twice, I think, he came to U.K to participate in the annual conference
of Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith held at Birmingham. At one occasion he was seen
standing hand in hand on the stage with Mian Fazl-e-Haqq, the Secretary General
of Pakistan Jamiat, with whom he used to have differences on party politics.
The Birmingham meeting brought them closer and a chapter of rivalry and
bitterness came to an end.
His books refuting Shi’ism brought him a fortune but also declared him an authority on
this subject.
The murderous attempt on his life in 1988 while he was addressing a
public meeting, crowned the last phase of his energetic life full in the
defence of Islamic values, the propagation of the true Islamic faith and
consolidation of a just system in Pakistan.
May Allah shower His mercy upon him.
13.
Abdul
Salam Kilani
They were three: Abdul Salam Kilani, Hāfiz Sanaullah and Hāfiz Abdul
Rahman, all from the same school of thought inspired by Sheikh Abdullah Ropari,
who came to join the university in 1963. All three of them excelled in
knowledge and adherence to Sunnah.
It is said about Kilani that he followed my footsteps in travelling to
Madinah, on his first retreat after passing the summer vacation in his hometown
in Punjab, by taking the voyage through Muscat, Dubai and Bahrain. Like me he
spent a night in a small hotel in Bahrain where his eyes caught for the first
time in his life, the glimpse of a black and white TV set. He simply turned his
back to that object which was displaying pictures!
He was very simple in his life, very fond of the books and always with a
smile on his face.
Later after graduation, he joined that group of Da’wa delegates who were
appointed in Uganda.
Another interesting story is related about him. Once he was riding a
tractor beside its African driver. He kept on talking to him about the
beautiful teachings of Islam throughout his short journey to the fields. By the
time he dismounted, the man had already pronounced the Kalima of Shahadah i.e.
the one to embrace Islam.
It has been a normal chat among teachers like us to amuse ourselves to
speak about marrying a second wife. Though none of us took it seriously except
for Kilani. He, in the absence of his wife who was still in Pakistan, married a
lady of Somali origin. It became a nightmare for him when his first wife
arrived at Kampala. However, he managed to calm down the situation and even
take his second wife to Pakistan for a short stay.
Later his Somali wife, with three of his daughters moved to London where
I happened to meet them once according to the wishes of Kilani. These were very
sad moments for him and his family as one of his daughters met her death in a
road accident.
Kilani, eventually moved back to Pakistan where I had seen him once at
the premises of Darus Salam Book shop.
He had grown in weight and seemed to be exhausted by travelling but he
was still there with his smiles.
May Allah shower His mercy upon him.
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